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IMMIGRATION NOVEMBER 20, 2026 | The Indian Eye 38
Texas Has Turned Blue. Could That
Change the Future of Immigration?
BY CYRUS D MEHTA AND Still, the control of Tex- jority in the Texas House. Re- gation can shape federal poli- ing its administrative-closure
as by a Democratic governor publicans retained the state cy without Congress changing provisions. Administrative
KAITLYN BOX
and a new Democratic at- Senate. Texas has therefore the statute. closure pauses a case; it does
torney general is significant. not become a Democratic tri- Under Biden, Texas chal- not itself grant lawful immi-
emocrats have won Texas has repeatedly opposed fecta; it faces divided govern- lenged humanitarian parole gration status. The Immigrant
control of both the
DHouse and the Sen- immigrant-friendly policies by ment. For immigration litiga- processes for Cubans, Hai- Legal Resource Center’s Sep-
tion, however, the change in
suing the Obama and Biden
tians, Nicaraguans, and Ven-
tember advisory describes
ate in this week’s midterm administrations. In the Trump the attorney general’s office ezuelans. That litigation did both the judgment and its
elections. The Hill’s report- era, it has facilitated restric- may be especially consequen- not establish that the process- broader effects.
ing describes the scale of the tive immigration policy. A tial. CBS Texas’s election re- es were unlawful: the district These disputes are not
Republican losses. Will that different Texas leadership porting explains that distinc- court dismissed for lack of interchangeable. But together
make an impact on immigra- could change that pattern, tion. standing in 2024, as discussed they illustrate why the identity
tion policy? Perhaps not as and it prompts the question That brings us to a central in a prior blog, and the Fifth of a state attorney general can
much as one might expect. of what happens when a state question: What if Texas with- Circuit later vacated that de- matter to immigrants far be-
Most immigration policy that has repeatedly gone to draws the DACA lawsuit? cision and dismissed the case yond that state’s borders.
under President Trump has court to block immigration The possibility deserves seri- as moot in 2025 following
been made through executive relief elects leaders who could ous attention. But so does the the administration’s move to WHAT IF TEXAS
actions and rulemaking, not choose a different course. difference between ending a terminate the processes. The WITHDRAWS THE DACA
through changes in the law The change is substantial, state’s opposition and undo- litigation record is a reminder LAWSUIT?
enacted by Congress. A Dem- but precision matters. Dem- ing the legal consequences of that these cases have different ACA—Deferred Ac-
ocratic Congress can investi- ocrats won the governorship years of litigation. procedural histories and can- tion for Childhood
gate, hold hearings, and use and the attorney general’s of- not all be treated as pending DArrivals—is the most
its power over funding, but it fice, and the Associated Press TEXAS HELPED TURN lawsuits waiting to be with- immediate test of what a dif-
cannot easily reverse policies projected a Democratic ma- IMMIGRATION POLICY drawn. ferent Texas could mean. The
that were never passed as bills. INTO A COURTROOM
BATTLE Texas also led the chal- program provides temporary
lenge to Keeping Families deferred action and eligibil-
t would be too broad Together, Biden’s parole-in- ity to request employment
to say that Texas has place initiative for certain authorization for qualify-
Ialways opposed the noncitizen spouses and step- ing people brought here as
federal government. The children of U.S. citizens. A children. It does not confer
more accurate point is federal district court vacated lawful immigration status.
that its Republican lead- that initiative in November USCIS’s published guid-
ership repeatedly chal- 2024. AILA’s litigation histo- ance continues to say that
lenged immigration ini- ry documents that outcome. renewals and accompanying
tiatives under Presidents A change in Texas leadership work-permit applications are
Obama and Biden—and, cannot, by itself, restore an processed, while initial re-
under President Trump, initiative already set aside by quests are accepted but not
has sometimes worked a court. processed. That is the oper-
with the federal govern- Nor did Texas win every ative agency guidance, not a
ment to dismantle those confrontation over discretion. benefit changed by election
initiatives. In the 2023 United States v. returns.
Under Obama, Texas decision concerning In its January 17, 2025
Texas led the challenge Biden’s immigration enforce- decision, the Fifth Circuit
to Deferred Action for ment priorities, the Supreme largely affirmed the judgment
Parents of Americans Court held that Texas and against the DACA rule but
and Lawful Permanent Louisiana lacked standing, as narrowed the remedy to Tex-
m of Residents (DAPA) and discussed in a prior blog. The as and separated the policy
CYRUS D. MEHTA & PARTNERS PLLC the expansion of DACA. Court did not decide that ev- of forbearance from the chal-
The litigation blocked
ery form of immigration dis-
lenged benefits provisions, in-
implementation; in 2016, cretion was lawful. This anal- cluding work authorization. It
an equally divided Su- ysis of the decision explains also maintained a stay pend-
preme Court left the why that distinction matters. ing further appeal. The opin-
lower court’s judgment in The pattern extends to ion makes clear why “DACA
place. That was not a ma- immigration court adminis- survived” and “DACA was
jority Supreme Court rul- tration. In June 2026, Texas struck down” are both inade-
ing resolving the merits. and the Justice Department quate descriptions.
The case history in Unit- agreed to a consent judg- We believe the incom-
2 6th Floor ed States v. Texas shows ment vacating the 2024 dock- ing attorney general should
how decisively state liti- et-management rule, includ- make ending Texas’s attack
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